In this issue, we finally discover how this “new” Wonder Woman has come into existence and why some people seem to remember the original Wonder Woman. Nemesis (the Goddess of Revenge) wanted to destroy the world’s greatest warriors. She would have destroyed Wonder Woman, if only a portion of Diana’s soul had not been recast in a new life, in a new history in Man’s World. This was meant to leave Diana alone amongst the mortals, which would (in theory) turn her bitter and angry. It accomplished the opposite, and made her feel at home with the humans (a feeling that has long since eluded Diana, who never felt in the place in Man’s World). If there is one thing that I hope writers hold on to after this story arc is over (other than the pants), it’s this Diana’s closeness with the mortal world. Making her feel a part of “Man’s World” will go a long way to fixing some of the major problems that turn people away from Wonder Woman.

The penultimate issue of J. Michael Straczynski’s The Odyssey story-arc was certainly action packed, featuring Wonder Woman against, well, Wonder Woman. The writing for this story arc has gotten better as it has gone along, and this issue was no exception (which I feel is more a credit to Phil Hester becoming comfortable with the character than anything else). The explanations of what had happened were clear enough that I wasn’t left completely confused (though I don’t feel that everything has been completely explained) and the action didn’t feel drawn out or dull. The artwork for the battle scenes was pretty great. The area where the fight took place was dark, haunting and everything it should have been. The flashback scenes were not as great. I felt that there was too much focus on Wonder Woman’s ass in the flashback scenes. It was so often and so prominent that it frequently took me out of the experience of the story.

Overall, this was an interesting chapter in Diana’s life. I am looking forward to re-reading this entire story arc once it is complete.